Weaponized response of states to CoVID-19: Militarist trends in South Asia and Southeast Asia

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The global spread of CoVID-19 has caused an unprecedented global health crisis, with the number of infections and fatalities exponentially increasing each day. Governments across the world, especially in the Southeast and South Asia region have implemented strict lockdowns, along with a mass deployment of troops and armed forces among urban and rural communities. Such […]

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How the COVID-19 response loans of the Asian Development Bank aggravate chronic crises in the Asia-Pacific region

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Updated: August 2023 Economic response for whom? Even before the pandemic, the majority of these countries were already reeling from the impact of neoliberal policies that have been imposed mostly through the conditionalities of international financial institutions (IFIs). After decades of implementation, it has been proven that so-called push buttons for development and global competitiveness […]

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Mega-FTAs and its implications on Asian workers

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“The consequences of mega-FTAs on trade, labor and employment is much shown in many developing countries where, in order to maintain competitiveness, must adhere to “lowest common denominator rules” rather than meeting the highest possible standards. Recent developments in trade liberalization have permitted monopoly capitalists to dictate the cheapest value of labor and other production facilities, thereby disregarding decent standards, to accumulate bigger profit.”

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RCEP: India must uphold peoples’ rights and welfare

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After 22 negotiation rounds and several missed deadlines, the 10 ASEAN countries and their 6 free trade partners will meet again in July 2018 to try and move forward the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement. While India’s hard stance on certain issues like tariff reduction has been a big factor in slowing down the past […]

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ASEAN Economic Integration: By whom? For whom?

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ASEAN is being projected as a destination for investments because of its growth rate at 5.3%1, which is currently faster than the US at 3.1%, and the EU at 2.5%. However, these numbers do not adequately reflect the realities on the ground. Perhaps, the starkest evidence of this is the rising inequality and concentration of […]

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Briefers on Militarism now available online

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APRN has released two briefers on militarism: Militarism and the Agenda 2030 and Militarism and the Environment. Militarism and the Agenda 2030 delves into the impacts of militarist policies on people’s rights and welfare, and how Agenda 2030 missed in recognizing and addressing this important issue even as it claims to work on building peaceful […]

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The WB-AIIB’s Indonesia ‘National Slum Upgrading’ Project: Safeguard violations and weak country systems analysis

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Indonesia’s President Jokowi has launched the ambitious “100-0-100 Program” with a laudable goal of 100 per cent access to potable water, 0 slums, and 100 per cent access to sanitation for urban inhabitants by 2019. The Cities Without Slums Program (KOTAKU) is a national platform funded by various sources, including central and local governments, the […]

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APRN briefer on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)

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With the lackluster performance of the WTO negotiations in the past years, monopoly capital has renewed its focus on bilateral and regional free trade agreements (FTAs). This reorientation aims to push contentious issues that would otherwise not be possible to advance within the context of a multilateral trade regime such as the WTO. This strategy […]

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APRN briefer on militarism and the Agenda 2030

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This briefer aims to shed light on the emerging threat of militarism in the Asia Pacific region and how the Agenda 2030 responds to the issue. It highlights the issue of militarism being used as a legal recourse to aide large-scale resource grabs, how militarism is affecting women and indigenous peoples and how high military spending is diverting resources away from sustainable development financing.

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